1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to shaft seals, also known as oil seals, designed for sealing against fluid leakage along shafts such as engine crankshafts and motor vehicle drive transmission shafts, and in a preferred embodiment to shaft seals of the type including a polytetrafluoroethylene sealing element.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Prior art techniques required a forming operation, after molding the seal, to form the polytetrafluoroethylene sealing lip into the desired shape. This later forming operation required additional time, handling, and expense, and if not done perfectly, could result in a seal I.D. that was not concentric with the seal O.D.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved method for manufacturing a seal having a polytetrafluoroethylene sealing lip, which method eliminates any post-molding operations and provides a more economical method for producing an improved seal.